V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
Research data management and the Flemish Universities
VLIR WG Research Data Management & Open Science
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
and ultimately Open Science
Research data management, an essential step towards Open Data
FLEMISH UNIVERSITIES WORKING TOGETHER
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
Collaboration on practical issues:
DMPonline.be DMP templates RDM Survey:
State of affairs in Flanders, depict RDM needs &
requirements
Onderzoeksmanagement aan de Vlaamse Universiteiten,
TH&MA (3), 47-51, 2017
Joint Policy statements:
Research data management en de Vlaamse Universiteiten:
White paper, VLIR-WG RDM &
Open Science
Research data management, an essential step towards Open Data
FLEMISH UNIVERSITIES WORKING TOGETHER
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
Questions
Consistent with foreign surveys so that
benchmarking is possible
Two tier system:
Survey to principal investigators (n=224)
Survey to researchers (n=425)
RDM @ the Flemish universities: State of affairs
5 dimensions:
• Data formats
• Archiving, storage
• Ethical & Legal
• Infrastructure & Services
• Collaboration and Reuse
Survey set-up
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
Policies
AD HOC RATHER THAN ORGANISED
34%
26%
21%
11%
8%
DO YOU MAKE A DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN BEFORE THE START OF A
PROJECT?
Never Hardly ever Mostly Yes, always Yes, when requested
5%
38%
57%
DATA MANAGEMENT POLICY
Formal Informal Non
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
Access
MORE BASED ON “NEED TO” THAN ON “WANT TO”
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Other The public The scientific community No one All members of my institution Peer reviewers Interested persons by request Selected members of my institution
DATA ACCESSIBILITY: TO WHOM
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Not at all Other Via personal or institutional website As linked supplementary material for publications Via data archive/repository Via remote server or share drives Via physical disks Via cloud applications Via email
DATA ACCESSIBILITY: MEDIUM
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
• What is your opinion on storing (a selection of)
the research data of your unit in an open access data repository
so that they can be reused by other
researchers?
Opinions concerning openness
DIVIDED BUT HOPEFUL
49% 51%
OPEN ACCESS DATA
Preferred Not preferred
V L I R Vlaamse
Interuniversitaire Raad
Sharing
ADVANTAGES ARE RECOGNISED BUT LEGAL ISSUES AND LACK OF TIME
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Use of rare data formats Other Missing data processes Missing data standards Lack of motivation for sharing Potentially undesired commercial use Lack of infrastructure Risk of misinterpretation and/or falsification of data Danger of misuse Other legal restrictions (e.g. copyright, patent law, …
Increased competition in the „publish or perish“ … Increased effort of time and/or cost
Privacy violation
WHAT KEEPS YOU FROM SHARING DATA?
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Other None Financial incentives (bonus, expense allowance) Support in the process of making the data accessible Establishment of standards for accountability and …
User friendly infrastructure Recognition in the scientific community Consideration of research data as relevant scientific …
New contacts and/or opportunities for cooperation … Increased visibility and impact of your own research …
